Disclaimer- I do not own The Hunger Games or Peeta or Gale or Katniss or any other character you may see.
This is set at the end of Hunger Games and is mostly about Gale and Katniss. It is about how they figure out their feelings and how Katniss breaks his heart.
Katniss PoV:
Home.
I hadn't really thought much of how our reunion would be but I didn't care at the moment, as Prim and Mother are waiting for me at the mouth of the house with open arms. I ran.
"Prim!" I shout at the same time that Prim shouts, "Katniss!"
Mother and Prim envelope my in a bear crushing hug, refusing to let me go. Prim and Mother are both sobbing on each side of me, and I couldn't help it as my salty tears dripped down my cheeks.
"You came back," Prim says. She repeats this over and over again until we disentangle ourselves at the sound of someone clearing their voice. I turn around.
I run up into his waiting arms, for I had missed him so. "Catnip, you did it." Gale says, smiling brightly at me. He grabs my hand and pulls me out of my house. "May I borrow her for just a moment?" Gale asks my family politely.
"Bring her back quickly so we can catch up." Prim says.
"I will." Gale promises.
We walk until we hit the fence, then crawl under the little hole to our hunting grounds. I breath in hungrily. I missed this place so much. I missed hunting with Gale and setting snares to catch the squirrels and rabbits. It is so much more different from being in The Games because well, Gale is here with me.
We stopped and sat down by a tree. I propped myself against its calming bark as Gale dug around in his back. The scent hit me and my senses perked up. Gale brought out the loaf of bread. "Fresh from the oven."
He also takes out some butter and we eat half of the loaf, agreeing we'd eat the rest later. Finally, with our bellies full, Gale sits next to me and takes my hand. I won't protest because his skin feels so soft on mine.
"I've missed you." He whispers.
"I missed you, too, Gale." I whisper back.
Gale mutters something I don't catch. I pass it off and after a brief silence he says, "What was the hardest part?"
I know exactly what he's talking about. The Games. "The hardest part was...not knowing if I'd ever get to see my mom or Prim or you. I tried extra hard for Prim. I promised her I'd try to win."
"What happened here while I was gone?"
"I did just as you asked. I kept your family fed and mine too. There were plenty of squirrels and rabbits to go around. Prim and I also spent a lot of time together."
"What about my mother?" I ask, hoping she didn't clock out like the time our father died.
"She surprised me. She wasn't dead like I'd seen her when your dad passed, she actually made an effort this time. She watched you everyday, all ways the first one there."
"What about you? Did you watch The Games?"
Gale rips his hand out of mine and averts my gaze. He stands up. "Maybe we should do this later. I have to go hunt for my family." He inches away from me.
I stand up awkwardly, startled my his abruptness. "I'll go with you then." We were just reunited and now he was slipping away before we could even catch up.
"I want to go alone." He says. But it isn't his normal voice. It's cold, like when he vents about his hatred for The Capital. Within seconds, Gale disappears into the green seas of the forest.
I am confused. Why would Gale react so strongly to that one question? Was it something he had seen on The Games? Was he uncomfortable about something that happened while he watched? I try to think of something that would give him this kind of response. Nothing big happened except for Peeta and I. Would that be why he was so upset? Gale words from the morning of the reaping rang in my head.
Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it.
His words in the forest meant nothing to me then but now, they seemed like the last piece to the puzzle. Could it be that Gale has feelings for me. Maybe, that would explain why he would react that way.
I walk all the way home as I process my epiphany. Gale has feelings for me. And no doubt so does Peeta. I know it was all an act but maybe I really did like being with Peeta. On the other hand, Gale is there when I need comforting. I've never thought of him outside a brother but maybe I need to broaden my approach and figure out what I want.
Prim and Mother are sleep in their makeshift bed. Buttercup is snuggled in between, purring softly. I climb in my bed and pull the covers over my head and hope that sleep will consume me immediately. It didn't.
My mind is still wandering. "They are too good for me," I whisper. I don't deserve neither one of them. Besides I can never let myself fall in love. I can never marry. And I can never bring a child into this horrible world of Panem. A lifetime of being alone seems like a good price to pay. Finally, with my questions solved, I dosed off.
I hear soft purring when I awake and instantly know it was Buttercup. Probably hungry I guessed. I fed him some scraps and then bathed. Once dry, I pull on some clothes and grab my bow and arrow.
I walk down to the fence and crawl under it. I have my weapon set to shoot. I walk around for a while and spot a squirrel as it gets an acorn. I release the bow and watch the squirrel fall as the arrow hits it right in its eye. I pick it up and place it in my backpack. I set a few snares and, while I wait, I grab a few berries and leafs. I sit against a tree and eat my snack. A twig snaps.
My body reacts and my weapon is set. I wait as the figure appears with its hand raised.
"It's just me." Gale says as he emerges.
I relax and put my bow and arrow down. I lift my hand in offering. "Want some?" I ask politely, as if nothing had happened yesterday.
"Thanks," Gale says and grabs a few berries from my hand as he sits beside me by the tree. We eat in silence and I like it. Then Gale sighs. "I figured you'd be here. I came to apologize about yesterday. I shouldn't have acted that way at all. Will you forgive me?"
"You don't need to ask. Your always forgiven." Gale smiles warmly and I return it, glad to have my friend back. I chew on a few leafs.
"So your really with Peeta?" Gale says out of the blue.
I lie because, no doubt, the camera's are everywhere. "Yes. I love him."
Gales eyes fill with the hurt that was sure to come. I rub soothing circles on his palm and try to tell the truth with my eyes, but its no use because once again Gale adverts his gaze.
He finally looks at me and smiles weakly. "Well I'm glad your happy." He says and I know he truly means it. "I'm glad you've found someone."
I hug him and he holds me tight. I never want to let him go and more importantly, I never want to hurt him. I try to hold him as long as possible. Gale breaks apart when another twig snaps and Peeta approaches.
Gale and Peeta have seen each other around but are not friends so the situation is sort of awkward. "Hey," Peeta says.
"Hey," Gale says back and then we fall into an uncomfortable silence.
After a while Peeta says, "Katniss, there is a feast at Haymitch's house. And with us being the victors, we have to be there."
I groan. "More camera's."
"I hate it as much as you do. But we really need to be going." Peeta takes my hand and helps me up while Gale sits there staring at the trees.
"We'll talk later?" I asked Gale as Peeta leads me towards District 12.
"Sure." He says. We walk and Gale seems to get smaller and smaller until he disappears altogether.
It turns out that later has a different meaning for Gale as we don't talk for at least another week. I see him at school but he never glances my way. It seems that the more time I spend with Peeta, the more Gale distances himself from me. I deserve it though. I mean, why hang out with someone who doesn't return your feelings?
After a week and a few days, I bring myself to visit Gale. I knock gently on the withered old door. Gale answers within seconds.
"Are you avoiding me?" I blurt out. Gale looks down and nods. "Why? What did I do?" I ask.
Gale looks behind him to see his family hanging on to our every word. "Let's go for a walk." He says then shuts the door. He buries his fingers in his beat up jacket as we walk.
We come to an old park. The swing is missing and the chains are badly rusted. The slide is filled with dirt and grim and slightly ajar. The monkey bars scream danger. We sit on an old bench.
"I want to explain to you why I've been avoiding you," he begins. "You didn't do anything, this is all on me." He seemed to struggle for the rights words to say. "I've been avoiding you because I love you."
I knew this was coming but I couldn't help it. The blood drains from my face and my already numb fingers go number if possible. He has feelings for me, that much I know, but I didn't realize how strong they are.
Then panic set in. If I couldn't return his feelings then would I lose him permanently? Not just for a week but permanently? Would I lose the boy with the snares?
Strangely, by Gale declaring his love for me, I now know that I love Peeta. That everything wasn't for show. That I actually developed feelings for him along the way. I was blind.
Gale looks at me with anxious eyes. When he sees I'm not capable of responding, he continues. "I thought that if I spent some time away from you that the feelings would go away. But they can't go away. They won't. I also stayed away because I don't want to ruin your happiness. I don't want you to have to choose. You love him. I've watched you fall in love with him. I can't compete with that. I'll try to keep my feelings in check for you. I'd rather have you as a friend than lose you altogether." He finished.
My tears dripped onto his jacket as I embraced him. He seemed surprised at first then gladly hugged me back. "I'm sorry Gale but I love Peeta." After a while he let me go and I missed his warmth.
"It's my own fault. I've waited too long." We stood up and walked back to his house in silence.
"Bye, Catnip," he says when we reach his house. I give him another hug before he goes in. I turn and walk towards Peeta's house.
His mother isn't home so the close is clear. We sit down on a couch that has the coils springing up and that has holes everywhere. Without warning, I snuggle into his chest. He is surprised because we agreed our love was only for show. "Just hold me Peeta. Just hold me." I say and sniffle back tears. Peeta's arms tighten around me.
I will not cry in from of Peeta. I don't want to have to explain that I am hurting the one person who had my back from jump street. Who hunted with me and shared his food with me. Who taught me how to build snares to provide for my family. Who is also my best friend. The person whose feelings I cannot return.
I don't know where I was going with this but it just came to mind. It might be a story but for now its a one-shot. If I get enough reviews it will possibly become a story.